Saturday, December 7, 2013

Google's Android OS may have a leg up on Apple with a new app that has been developed. In this video from Reuters, Jim Drury explains how a group of eye-care professionals designed an application that allows Android devices to be used as mobile eye exam units. This will make the diagnosis of eye problems for hundreds of thousands of people who cannot travel to the city much easier. Third world countries will definitely benefit from this amazing new app!

If you have can't decide whether Google's Google Now voice recognition software is better than Apple's Siri, then this video could help. Watch 50 voice commands put to action by the two programs, and see which one you would prefer to have. This video from Phone Buff demonstrates the ability of these two programs to translate voice commands into action.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Still undecided about purchasing an iPhone 5s? Check out this video review of the new model and see if the new features are what you're looking for. Remember to check out our selection of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models in our Bytes 4U section.

Apple is still maintaining a tight grip on its supply of
iPad Minis with Retina Display. The much coveted device is still not available
in carrier stores, and this could be because the Cupertino company does not
feel its supply chain is strong enough to maintain the demand in carrier
stores, as well as in Apple’s own direct customer base.

As of this morning (Friday, December 6), Verizon still has
the iPad Mini with Retina Display backordered all the way out till December 16th.
AT&T is not looking any better with its 21-28 day waiting period when the
tablet is ordered online. Neither of the carriers has offered any information
as to when the iPad Mini with Retina Display would actually be in their brick
and mortar stores, according to CNET. T-Mobile has not yet given a date as to
when the iPad Mini with Retina Display would be available. The company’s
website simply says that it will be “available for shipment soon.” Apple’s
direct availability of the tablet has seemed to improve in recent days, as the
waiting period is now listed as 5-7 days, rather than the 5-10 days that had
been listed last week.

The cellular models of the iPad Mini with Retina Display are
now available for walk in purchases in some Apple retail stores in the U.S.,
although Verizon and AT&T still do not have the tablet.

Apple’s launch of the iPad Mini with Retina Display was
uncharacteristically quiet, with the tablet being launched on the company’s
website at midnight, and with no public announcement. This is probably due to
supply constraints, which do indeed seem to be plaguing the carriers. The new
iPad Mini with Retina Display is one of the most sought after holiday gift
items this year.

While Verizon and AT&T may not have any of the devices for
sale, Tiny Apple Bytes does have available devices. To get your iPad Mini with
Retina Display from Tiny Apple Bytes, simply visit our Bytes 4U page and select
the model you want!

In July Judge Denise Cote of the New York federal district
court passed a conviction down on the iPad, claiming that it was a part of a
conspiracy to increase e-book prices. This doesn’t really seem to make sense on
the surface, as the tablet actually caused e-book prices to drop when it
entered the market in 2010. Consumers were able to choose more freely where
they would purchase their e-books, and the competition subsequently caused a price
reduction.

The judge appointed a personal friend, Michael Bromwich, as
a monitor of the situation. However, Bromwich used his position to rip
into the Cupertino based tech giant. His role in the mess following the lawsuit
is rather scandalous, as he is billing Apple $1,100 per hour to investigate the
company. Oh, and as if that’s not enough, he has also called in a second law
firm to help ensure he gets the job done right because he has no experience in
this area. The first two weeks of his investigation landed Apple a bill for
$138,432.40.

Bromwich has asked for meetings with all of Apple’s upper
echelon, including Tim Cook and Jony Ive, presumably to pump them for
information. Judge Cote also wants Bromwich to meet with her every month and hand
over detailed reports of what he has found without having an Apple attorney
present at the meeting. The WSJ says this is completely unconstitutional.

The editorial column in the Journal says, "Special
masters are typically imposed on a company to remedy a pattern of especially
egregious conduct using a settlement consent decree in which litigants agree to
the terms of the appointment. Judge Cote foisted Mr. Bromwich on Apple over its
objections, to punish the company for what she ruled was price-fixing when the
late Jobs tried to alter the payment structure of e-books in December 2009 and
January 2010."

Judge Cote has withdrawn her request for private meetings
with Bromwich after Apple loudly voiced its objections. However, the Journal
says that withdrawing the request is not enough.

"The Second Circuit where her ruling is on appeal
should remove her from the case. Her condominium with Mr. Bromwich is offensive
to the rule of law and a disgrace to the judiciary.”

What do you think? Is this a gross abuse of power for a
judge to place a personal friend in charge of a massive investigation, then try
to gain information without both parties present? Tell us what you think in the
comments below.

The rumors have come to pass, and Apple and China Mobile
have signed a deal to launch the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in China. According to
the Wall Street Journal, China Mobile and Apple have signed the contract and
the 700 million subscribers the Chinese carrier has in its customer base will
soon be able to purchase their new iPhones.

China Mobile is the largest carrier in the world by
subscriber count, and a 700 million head market is a big stroke for Apple. That
means that China Mobile’s customer base is around two times the entire
population of the U.S. This deal has been in the making for several years, with
Apple executives trying to get a contract inked with the giant wireless
provider. No doubt the carrier will see great success with the iPhone launch to
its customer base, which is largely made up of China’s middle class.

Apple has been marketing the iPhone in China, and the
country is the second largest market for the Cupertino company, coming in
behind the United States. However, Apple has been losing ground to other
smartphone manufacturers, including Xiaomi. The reason for this is that
competitors often offer cheaper options than the iPhone, which attracts more
users.

In September, Apple was able to gain clearance from the
Chinese government to allow China Mobile to operate the iPhone on its wireless
network. This was a big victory for Apple, and quite possibly what has fueled
the rumors surrounding the deal for the last few months. Earlier this week,
China Mobile also made progress with the government, securing permission to
operate a fourth generation network. This new type of network uses TD-LTE
technology, which is extremely fast, and will replace the 3G network currently
in place.

This deal could mean a huge boost for Apple in the coming
weeks. The launch is rumored to be happening on December 18th, so we
don’t have long to wait until we find out just how big this deal is for both
companies.

Blackberry has managed to keep one loyal customer while enduring the
loss of millions of others to companies like Apple and Samsung. President Obama
has said that he is not allowed to use an iPhone because it is a security risk.
He told a group that because of “security reasons” an iPhone is off limits, and
instead he uses a Blackberry device.

Blackberry Turning
Sour

Blackberry was once the device of choice, but in recent
years the company has slipped from the forefront of the market to become a
distant memory in the minds of a 30 plus generation. The company shed market
share to Apple after the advent of the iPhone, and Samsung and other
manufacturers have been eating away at what was left of the manufacturer’s
customer base.

Blackberry has struggled just to maintain and even keel of late,
and recently its CEO, Thorsten Heins, was ousted and replaced by John Chen. The
company’s board hopes that Chen can turn the struggling smartphone maker
around, but in the meantime, any customer held on to is a plus. The fact that
the president of the United States is a loyal customer could be a major
advertising boon for the company.

Apple Growing Sweeter

Apple has become a world leader in the mobile market, with
its iPhone taking the world by storm. The iPad tablet line has also been a very
successful product for Apple and will no doubt help bolster sales during the
holiday shopping season. The release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last year
have carried Apple through the year, and the recent launch of the iPad Miniwith Retina Display and the iPad Air have boosted its numbers.

While Blackberry may have succeeded in keeping Apple from
entering the White House, Apple may very well be the force that places
Blackberry execs in the poor house if Chen can’t straighten the ailing company
out.

From the tops of massive wind turbines to 50 feet below the surface of the water, the iPad has become a necessary part of many people's lives. Check out this awesome video from Apple detailing how iPad can be used in places you may have never thought it was possible to take a tablet.

Facebook and Twitter have been hacked on a global scale. I
know this sounds absurd, but the fact is that both of these networks have been
compromised due to the use of simple passwords. This cannot be blamed on a lack
of security by Facebook or Twitter. Instead, this one falls directly on the
users’ heads.

Trustwave is a Chicago based company that specializes in
cyber security. The company posted to its blog that more than 2 million
accounts on the Internet, including some on Facebook and Twitter, have been
compromised by the “Pony” botnet controller virus. The virus is a piece of
malware that spies on your computer via a keylogging script. It was spread
around to computers all over the world, leaving many of them exposed to the
hack.

Trustwave tracked the activities of the virus to a server in
the Netherlands. They managed to do this through an “elite team of ethical
hackers,” which successfully traced the information that had been stolen.
According to SpiderLabs, Trustwave’s “hacking division,” said that some 650,000
sets of website credentials were stolen in a blog post last June. This was done
through the Pony, version 1.9. However, according to the latest report, this
time the theft was a very “stable and consistent operation” while the report
from June described a more “hit and run” setup.

This time around, 1,580,000 website login credentials and
320,000 email logins were stolen through a server in the Netherlands. The
server was first spotted on November 24th, and the accounts that
have been compromised are numerous.

Here is a breakdown of the numbers:

·Facebook – 318,121

·Yahoo – 59,549

·Google – 54,437

·Twitter – 21,708

·Odnoklassniku (Russian social network) – 9,321

·LinkedIn – 8,490

·ADP (Payroll solutions provider) – 7,798

These accounts were compromised by a lack of private
security by users who chose weak passwords. If your password is “password” or “123456,”
then you’re at a much higher risk of being hacked than if you chose “SupercaliFragilisticExpealidocious.”
While that might seem a bit over the top, I am sure that the account holders at
ADP who found their money managing accounts compromised would disagree with you
wholeheartedly.

According to John Miller, a security manager at Trustwave, there
was “no evidence” that the hackers actually logged into the accounts. However,
he admitted there was no proof otherwise, saying, “but they probably did.”

The bottom line is that if you want to be secure in today’s
world, you should choose a password that’s hard to guess. Trustwave has
compiled a list of passwords they consider to be extremely insecure, and are
suggesting users do not ever incorporate into any online accounts.

1.123456

2. 123456789

3. 1234

4. password

5. 12345

6. 12345678

7. admin

8. 124

9. 1

10. 111111

Stay away from these passwords at all costs, and protect
yourself from attacks like this one. Trustwave did note that most of the
accounts that were compromised were located in the Netherlands, however, that
is not to say someone will not target the U.S. in the next attack.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) set its highest closing price of
2013 yesterday, when it closed at $566.32. The stock has not closed this high
since December 4th of 2012, which makes this the highest close in
more than a year. The stock could be well on its way to the $600 price target
set by Investor Place for January of 2014.

The holiday season is ramping up for Apple, and great
numbers from Black Friday and Cyber Monday have no doubt helped to bolster the
stock’s share price. It could be an Apple Christmas after all, if things keep
looking up for the Cupertino company.

No New iPhone

Last year’s holiday season marked one of the best that Apple
has ever seen. The launch of the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini boosted sales figures
through the roof, and the stock hit highs of more than $700. The following
months left shareholders feeling deflated as the stock then plummeted to less
than $400 per share, dashing the hopes of hitting $1100 price targets set by
over enthusiastic analysts.

Apple Looks Good

Apple is looking good these days, and although there is no
new iPhone this year, the launch of the iPad Air and iPad Mini with RetinaDisplay have proven sufficient attention grabbers. The public is snapping up these
two products, and Apple had even experienced a supply constraint on the iPad
Mini with Retina Display. Those issues seem to be easing now, and the device is
proving to be a popular gadget.

Current Movement

The stock is on the move again today, following yesterday’s encouraging
close. Currently it is trading at $563.52, which is a $2.80 decrease from its
opening price. However, the stock has been fluctuating above its opening price
most of the morning. No doubt, it will close near the same price it did yesterday,
if not above that price.

China Mobile and
Apple Inc. have been rumored to be planning an iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch
for the middle of this month. However, new developments in the story seemed to
indicate that China Mobile had opted to launch the phone earlier. In fact, a
website for one of the wireless conglomerate’s subsidiary companies in Suzhou
was launched late yesterday, with the option to pre-order the iPhone 5s and
iPhone 5c.

Report Based On Site

The story was published by Fortune’s online tech portal,
then later updated to reveal that China Mobile denied any deal with Apple being
fully developed. A spokesperson for the Chinese wireless carrier told CNN’s
Beijing office today that there is no deal with Apple yet. However, the fact
that a deal had been on the minds of the two companies is an undeniable fact.
Apple has been trying to sort out an agreement for more than six years with
China Mobile.

Apple's Biggest Holdout

China Mobile has more than 740 million subscribers on its
network, which makes it a valuable prize for Apple to acquire a contract with
the company. However, so far, China Mobile has been Apple’s biggest holdout.

If China Mobile were indeed testing a soft launch of the
iPhone 5 in its market, then Suzhou would have been a suitable place to do so.
This city is one of the richest in all of China, and it has a large population.
This population would not only be aware of the iPhone, but would also be able
to afford the purchase price.

Site Taken Down

The website which allowed for the pre-ordering of the iPhone
has been replaced with a page that has Chinese characters on it. According to
Google Translate, the page reads: "Reservation page information update,
will be reopened later appointment. Please try again later, thank you for your
support of Suzhou Mobile!" This change was made after China Mobile made
its statement to CNN that there was no deal with Apple Inc. Either the site was
a hoax, or China Mobile has pulled it down and denied any involvement with it.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Nasdaq stock exchange has had quite a year so far, with
a massive 33 percent increase that is equal to a 1,000 point rise. In fact, the
exchange topped the 4,000 mark just in time for Thanksgiving this year, and the
holiday shopping season is only just begun.

The Nasdaq is powered mostly by tech stocks, which explains
the big rise it has seen this year, as the tech market has expanded and grown
exponentially. While the massive increase in the exchange’s overall value seems
monumental – and it is – but it is so much more impressive because its number
one company by value has not really pushed the numbers this year.

Apple Not Keeping Up With The Rest Of The World

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the most valuable stock in the
world. However, it has fallen far behind the pack this year, and has only risen
4.5 percent. Last September saw Apple Inc. touch its high water mark of $702,
followed by a subsequent slide and recovery to its current level of $556.07 per
share. The stock seemed to sour in the mouths of investors almost overnight,
and it shed value by more than $200 per share before finally leveling out and
making a comeback.

Apple Staging A Comeback

While it has seemed that shareholders in Apple have been left
with sour cider for the last few months, it is possible that some sweet nectar
may be just around the corner for the Cupertino company. We recently reported
that Apple is projected to hit $600 per share by January of next year, and the
company is climbing towards that mark each day.

While the stock gained $10.11 per share today and rose by
1.85 percent, the fact that it is inching towards that $600 mark could be a
sign that investor confidence in the company is once again growing. The company
is a conundrum of sorts, with analysts having multiple predictions regarding
its future. However, the company has a huge cash pile, which Carl Icahn
believes should be distributed through a massive share buyback program. The company
also manufactures and sells the premier electronic devices of the day, with
iPhone and iPad being household words in America and other thriving nations.

What Does The Future Hold?

Will Apple make a comeback to its glory days in the $700
price range? I think so, although I look for it to be somewhere in the fall of
next year. I believe the iPhone 6 launch and possibility of an iWatch launch
could be the catalysts to push the stock back to its stellar heights. In the
meantime, buying shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to be a great way to
squeeze some juice from the sometimes bitter market.

Disclosure: Author holds no position in any stock mentioned
at the time of this writing.